I know what you mean, Mik. It's not by accident that, out of all 47 of my knives, only one is part serrated.
Pete.
I know what you mean, Mik. It's not by accident that, out of all 47 of my knives, only one is part serrated.
Pete.
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Best bet is to get a diamond sharpener made by dmt. £30ish, will get you the diafold, which is a double sided jobbie, will sharpen 10 times quicker than an oil stone, and cleaner to. couple of strokes on these , is enough to get razor results. and folds small enough to carry in your shooting jacket. blue is course , red is medium, and green is fine, have found the blue / red combo is best.
Diamond stones are very harsh on the blade steel. If you want to preserve your blade for maximum life, whilst keeping it at it's sharpest, then I really would use something more traditional.
Diamond stones are fine for plane irons and such, as they don't lose their flatness due to wear.
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been using diamond stones for years, never had a problem with them wearing blades out, used on my leatherman , which i use for work daily , and no probs at all , have also got some fancy knives for shooting, and as long as your sensible , gives a longlasting keen edge.
thought id have a quick say on this subject
i have been a butcher for more years than i dare say (about 15/20) !!! we still only use the traditional steel if this is used regulary it will keep a keen edge on any knife i only grind my knives once a year (with an oil stone) i can keep a boneing (skining knife ) for 3 to 4 years to give a clue that one knife would bone out /cut 2whole cows/40-50lambs/8-10pigs a week
Thank you Snock for a very informative post. Can I just add that instead of having a leather strop stretched tight to wipe the blade on I use a stropping board. This is a piece of leather glued to a length of wood, mine is about 2" square and 8" long with the leather glued on one face. I hold the knife and wipe the strop along the edge. Same result as a pukka strop but I find it easier with this tool if the blade is a bit long.
Thanks again.
Just got back from Spain and bought myself a little darling of a knife there. A Muelay Colibri. Fixed 2 3/4" blade with a 3 1/4" Bone handle. with brass bolsters. It's worth going on their website and having a look at it.
When I die don't let my wife sell my guns for what she thinks I gave for them!!!
An old cobbler showed me a way to sharpen knives a long time ago. Simply buy some wet n dry paper P600 grade. Glue onto a piece of wood about 7-8 inches long 2inches wide. Use spray adhesive to stick it on.wet the sharpener and use as oil stone. Works a treat, my knives are extreemly sharp. Obviously you need to learn the knack. If your knife is new or been sharpened using another method then it will take time for this method to kick in. Keep everything almost flat. But not that flat it marks the blade above an eighth of an inch from the edge. At first you may give it a jolly good rubbing. That should last for a few sessions. Then you will notice something extreemly sharp emerging. Next it's little and often. Rather like a new willy.
Ah! the most important bit, you must learn about the different concoctions of steel and other things used to make a blade. Some hold an edge-some do not.
Last edited by christy; 27-01-2008 at 12:29 AM. Reason: forgot something
I use a spyderco, Tri-angle Sharpmaker - simply superb.
Comes with a video of how to use it, excellent bit of kit.
Dave
just anyone is unsure about how to strop a knife here is a video for you
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=liKYctpdjC4
DONT BEAM ME UP SCOTTY I'M HAVING A CR__.__..._......
Here's how ray mears does it http://youtube.com/watch?v=bQN4jcXDjbE
I have recently learnt how to put a convex edge on my Fallkniven. I then use the fine stones on my Spyderco to finish. The edge is sharp enough to shave with, and can slice through tissue that is held between finger and thum.
Cam
When majoring in Industrial Arts we were taught to sharpen tools on a wet wheel to produce a hollow edge. Once the hollow edge is produced you use a series of progressively fine wet (black) sand paper starting with about 500 and ending with 1000. These papers are mounted on a piece of glass to for a perfectly flat surface. The edge is conditioned by bringing the edge of the blade into the paper, not away. At the 1000 grit mark, if all goes well, the burr edge will begin to fall off (wear through). At this point head to your leather strop conditioned with fine rubbing compound. The burr will then be abraded through. A few more strokes and you will have a fabulous edge. You can buy a cheap wet wheel grinder unit at Harbor Freight. This technique is the same for lathe tools, knives, chisels, axes, .....Although I find a single stroke (fine) file out in the field with an axe is an excellent way to sharpen an axe, lawnmower blades or yard tools. Pull the file across the face rather than taking full stokes at a 90 degree angle. Done this way a file can produce a raiser sharp edge on tool steel.
Really useful, Thanks
thanks, good info